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The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 26,000 investigative stories.

Most of our stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center directly at 573-882-3364573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need.

Search results for "time sheet" ...

We exposed how the Santa Clara County District Attorney, Jeff Rosen, circumvented the county’s time-off policy, giving thousands of hours of extra vacation to his appointees-“lead attorneys,” some of the highest paid employees in the county- as a secret perk. We uncovered that this "gift of time" was to make up for a bonus these lead attorneys lost during budget negotiations. Our investigation revealed DA Rosen directed staff to alter their time sheets: vacation and sick time were changed to "administrative leave," thus allowing select attorneys to bank their time and cash out later. Our report raised questions from unions across the county whose contracts with the county all contained a clause stating: if one union did not take their contractual cuts, no one had to do so. Consequently, the DA’s move to undercut the contract put millions of dollars at risk. Several unions filed complaints with the county in response to our story asking for comparable payment. Our reporting prompted the Attorney General to open a civil investigation into the DA’s office. The county executive ordered the time off be paid back by attorneys, and imposed an annual cap on the number of administrative leave hours that can be given to attorneys to prevent this from happening again.

By Jenna Susko; Julie Putnam; Jeremy Carroll; Matt Goldberg

“Two sheriff’s deputies nearly tripled their pay through tremendous amounts of overtime, mostly teaching at a community college”. These deputies would work a great deal of overtime hours, over consecutive days and receive a large amount of overtime pay. After all this became visible, the sheriff put an end to overtime pay through the college, but at this point the deputies had already enhanced their annual pay for three years. Further, it increases their pension benefits for decades to come.

By Michelle Breidenbach; John O' Brien

Until this Seattle Weekly report, the police and public didn't realize that Robert Castle was the state's DUI King, a chronic hazard who racked up 16 drunk driving convictions and was repeatedly given breaks by the courts and soft time by judges. Documents reviewed by the Seattle Weekly revealed poorly kept records that prevented judges from realizing the full scope of Castle's driving history and his threat to others on the roadways.

By Rick Anderson

An investigation by the Plain Dealer found that "dozens of Parma police officers have shirked their duties and bent the rules in pursuit of more money, aggravating the city's budget crisis." What's more, "the department commanders say they are powerless to stop them." Using open records requests to obtain a mass of data including police payroll, criminal citation and ticket data -- along with payroll sheets, duty records, personnel files and union requests, the Plain Dealer uncovered that crooked cops in Parma were not only retaliating against city attempts to reform the system with "an orchestrated and financial crippling work slow down," but they were also gaming the taxpayers for much more money than they were entitled to -- for instance swapping sick time for overtime to earn double the pay for a normal shift. The series spawned a rash of resignations and investigations in Parma.

By Timothy Heider;Joseph Wagner;Bob Paynter

This investigation uncovers that some board employees "treat jobs as political perks." Peddie looked at several "politically connected officials" at the Suffolk County Board of Elections time sheets and found that many had claimed to work a full day when they did not.

By Sandra Peddie

A Los Angeles Times investigation examines the fund-raising practices of former Texas governor and presidential candidate George W. Bush during the 1998 and 1994 gubernatorial elections. The extensive computer-assisted analysis revealed that much of the money Bush raised during those campaigns "came from contributors with major stakes in state regulation." Bush's leading donors included "oil and other large industrial companies trying to avert mandatory pollution controls; businesses seeking relief from expensive civil suits, and conservatives advocating state-paid vouchers for students in private schools."

By Alan C. Miller

The Pioneer Press articles reveal malfeasance in the management of the Ramsey County Tax department. After the Pioneer Press analyzed "about 1,000 pages of (tax director Lou McKenna's) time sheets, payroll stubs, court documents, property records, telephone bills, travel documents and expense vouchers," irregularities became apparent, and McKenna resigned. Subsequently his assistant was fired, two state audits were inititated, a criminal investigation was begun, and hiring practices and the system by which the county grants tax breaks were revised.

By Browning

WFLA-TV (Tampa, Fla.) discovers that constitutionally elected officers in Florida are not accountable for their time, and not required to keep time sheets, vacation records or even determine their own workload, August - October 1992.